The Meaning of Courage
by psychokitty3
Summary: When the Halliwells' lives are going wrong, and no end to the dark is in sight, what could make things worse? A mysterious badbutt from the future, a demon with a serious identity crisis, a traitor, and a toaster that never seems to work, that's what.
1. Important Notes

Hey, guys! This isn't really the prologue, the next chapter is the prologue, so you can read ahead if you want. But, this page is important because it will help you keep the things you have learned straight. This is a very complicated fiction, and I want to make sure you remember everyone and their powers! Now, I will only show people once you have learned about them, so this page will be updated regularly. Yes, I am listing the sisters, and unknown info about people will be represented by question marks.

Piper Halliwell (31)-  
Child of: Patricia "Patty" Halliwell and Victor Bennett  
Powers: Freezing time, blowing things up  
Future Status: Unknown, but it's something sad

Phoebe Halliwell (28)-  
Child of: Patricia "Patty" Halliwell and Victor Bennett  
Powers: Premonitions, levitation, empathy  
Future Status?

Paige Halliwell (26)-  
Child of: Patricia "Patty" Halliwell and Samuel "Sam" Wilder  
Powers: Orbing, telekinetic orbs, semi-glamouring, semi-healing, semi-sensing  
Future Status?

Leonardo "Leo" Wyatt (he's immortal) -  
Child of: Christopher Wyatt and ?  
Powers: Orbing, healing, sensing, glamouring, feels Piper's pain, pep-talking (should be a classified as a power with the Halliwells)  
Future Status?

Wyatt Matthew Halliwell (23 or 1) -  
Child of: Piper Halliwell and "Leo" Wyatt  
Powers: Force field, orbing, sensing, prophetic dreams  
Future Status: Alive and ruler of the world

Christopher "Chris" Perry Halliwell (22) -  
Child of: Piper Halliwell and "Leo" Wyatt  
Powers: Orbing, sensing  
Future Status: Not even there - he's in the past

Sierra Paige Halliwell (15) -   
Child of: Piper Halliwell and "Leo" Wyatt  
Powers: Energy balls, light balls, molecule disconnection, shimmering, telepathy, darkness  
Future Status: Alive, in the Resistance, in the past 


	2. Prologue

AN: Hey, this is my new future fic, but it's not just focused on the future stuff!

And I'm standing  
But I'm starting to shake  
And I don't know  
How much more I can take  
Rob Thomas, "ThisIs How a Heart Breaks"

A teenage girl ran quickly through an attic door. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest. _Is he behind me?_ She quickly whipped her head around to check. _Nope, than the Goddess._

She quickly ran over to an alter in the middle of the room where a hologram of a book could be seen; a hologram of the Halliwell Book of Shadows. The girl was in the attic of Halliwell Museum, the tribute to the ancestry of the ruler of the world. It was located on 1329 Prescott Street, in an old Victorian manor in San Francisco, California. Well, it was now Centre Edra: Central Power.

"Dammit," the girl whispered ot herself, her mossy green eyes widening in fear. She quickly brushed her fingers through her shoulder-length, curly, dark brunette hair. "What am I supposed to do?" She asked herself.

"Run would be my best guess." The girl turned around to face the figure that had suddenly appeared behind her. He was quite tall, just over six feet,with wavy blonde hair reaching towards his shoulders and blue eyes as cold as Antarctica, with a smirk to match. He wore all black, and carried a sword in his right hand. She frowned, placing her hands on her hips, which were now tilting slightly to the right.

"What a surprise to see you here, Wyatt Matthew," she spat, her words filled with more venom than anyone could fathom. Wyatt lost his smirk, turning it into an even colder frown.

"Not so much to see you, Sierra Paige," Wyatt mocked, taking a step towards the teenager he towered over. She tilted her head a bit to look into his eyes, but kept standing. She glared into his eyes.

"Is that any way to treat your sister?" She asked, her jaw firm, and her voice icy. She held hate in her eyes, which were slowly turning from her beautiful, mossy green to a dark black. Wyatt smirked, and flipped his hair in an obnoxious way.

"It is a great way to treat my youngest sister." Wyatt poked, taking another step foreward. This time, Sierra took a step back. She kept her eyes cold, but all she could think about was how she could escape.

"You have no right to call anybody a sister." Sierra said. "Having a family requires a heart." Wyatt smirked again at that comment.

"So, I supposed you would have one, correct?" He asked, lifting up his sword into a swinging position. Sierra nodded, and Wyatt suddenly took a swing at her chest. The sword passed right through her. Chuckling, Wyatt backed up and put his sword back down. "Perfected that power now, havenÕt you?"

"Yeah, and that's not the only power I've worked on." Sierra responded, and held up both her hands. In her right hand, a blue ball appeared, with electric energy flowing through it. In her left hand, a yellow ball appeared, glowing as bright as the sun in the palm of her hand. She threw them both at him, coming from different directions. Wyatt, unable to duck fast enough, closed his eyes and caused his forcefield to flare up. The balls bounced off of the blue, transparent dome and headed straight back towards Sierra. She shimmered out of the way, reappearing right behind Wyatt. He sensed her presence, and orbed away, with black orbs.

Sierra closed her eyes and thought intensely. _I'll just sneak up behind her and stab her_ she heard, in her oldest brother's voice. Just in time, she turned around and blocked the powerful sword with an atheme. She brought up her knee to his groin, and slashed his throat as he bent over. Knowing that it wouldn't take long for his self-healing to kick in, she ran over to the hologram, leaving her choking brother behind.

"Give me strength  
And give me light  
Help me to end  
This horrendous fight

Brothers, sisters,  
Families bound  
Bring the Shadows here  
Safe and sound!"

Sierra spoke her spell quickly, watching as a glow surrounded her brother's throat and swallowed up both the cut and the blood. Wyatt lifted up his sword as if to throw it at her, and Sierra quickly clapped her hands, causing pure darkness to engulf the room. Knowing she had to leave quickly in order to escape her death, she thought of the one place where she would truly be safe from her evil brother: the past. Coming up with a spell, she spoke it aloud.

"When you find  
Your path is blocked  
All you have to do  
Is knock

From the future  
And to the past  
Let me find  
My Chris at last

No evil pass  
By word of this spell  
For if they try  
They be vanquished to hell!"

Hoping that her spontaneous spell was good enough, Sierra closed her eyes and tapped lightly on the wall next to her with her fist. Suddenly, a blue and white light shone from the wall, forming the shape of the triquetra. Sierra and Wyatt made eye contact for one last time before Sierra was sucked into the wall and enveloped by the eerie light.

_Please let me not end up with dinosaurs_ Sierra thought as her brother disappeared from view.

T:T:T:T

AN: So, this was the prologue. Please, please review! Where do you think she'll end up? Well, duh! So, what do you think she's gonna find in the future? How receptive will the sisters be to her? And did you make any sense of the prologue? Please tell me in your review! I know the future sister has been done before, but there's something different about this: the story is not completely focused on future stuff. Each person will have their own plot line, and have it sometimes combined with other peoples'. Please review! 


	3. A Few Bad Dreams

_There's nothing there  
I used to lie  
My inspiration has run dry  
That's what's going on  
Nothing's right, I'm torn_  
Natalie Imbruglia, "Torn"_She ran. Fast. Wondering through the darkness at Mach two. There was no way out. She kept running into walls. Invisible walls, in the pitch black. A light emerged. A face. Family... calling out to her. Calling her name. She chased after them. They kept calling. She chased them still, never getting closer. Suddenly... fading. They faded. Light became dark. Darkness stayed._

"You failed"

"You failed us."

"You failed your family"

"You failed your life"

"You didn't save us."

"You don't deserve us."

"We hate you"

"You're useless"

"Don't bother calling us"

"We'll never come"

"We've left you"

"For good"

"You deserve it"

"You're all alone"

"Alone"

"Alone"

"Alone"

A baby's cry filled the air. A baby she could not reach.

The woman jolted awake. She was already sitting up, her hand over her heart, her breath frantic. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and tears slowly rolled down her soft cheeks.  
Slowly, reality arrived. She could hear the baby crying. She reached up her hand and gently wiped away her tears, drying them on the shirt of her pajamas. She shakily stood up from the queen-sized bed, taking only a few seconds to compose herself before heading towards the door.

A moment later, she arrived in a small room... the nursery. She looked across the room to see a little boy, almost one year old. He stood up in his white crib, his beautiful face red with crying. His wails bounced off of the walls, creating a ringing affect. His light blonde hair curled gently around his forehead and the back of his neck, looking tousled from a rough night's sleep. His blue eyes were squinted as he let small droplets roll from them.

"Oh, sweetie," she said, and quickly walked dashed across the room. She carefully lifted the sobbing boy to her, and began rubbing his back. "Hush, sweetie, it's okay, Mommy's here for you."

Slowly, the little boy stopped crying. He buried his head into his mother's hair, letting the wetness on his cheeks rub off on it. She cradled the boy close, making sure that he was safe.

She eased her way over to the white rocking chair in the corner of the nursery, gently seating herself and her son. She lightly kissed his pale forehead, pushing aside some of his wispy hair to do so. She began rocking them both back in forth in a calming manner, watching as her son drifted back to sleep.

Suddenly, a man appeared in the doorway, and his entrance was brought by the arrival of blue-and-white balls of light.

"Piper?" He asked, and the woman turned around. Her expression turned from serene to infuriated, to put it lightly.

Her name, in fact, was not "the woman", it was Piper Halliwell. She and her son lived on 1329 Prescott Street in San Francisco, California. Her husband, or soon to be ex-husband, Leo Wyatt, was Up There being a full-time elder, or at least he was supposed to be. Lately, he had still been hanging around the house, trying to solve some rather enigmatic mysteries around Halliwell Manor, as the sisters liked to call it.

Who were the sisters? Why, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige Halliwell, of course. Phoebe was currently living with her boyfriend, Jason, in some fancy apartment in Tokyo. Paige was living with her boyfriend, Richard, on the other side of the city. Neither had come to visit after they had left, except for the occasional demon attack.

Yes, the sisters were attacked by demons, and not just everyday, ordinary demons either. They were attacked by the most powerful demons that existed, because they were the most powerful witches. The three sisters were the Charmed Ones, the prophesied decedents of Melinda Warren, who were destined to bring down the Source of All Evil. Of course, they had finally accomplished that messy task about a year earlier, but they kept on fighting the good fight for, well, Good. As did Leo Wyatt, who was a whitelighter - basically, a guardian angel for good witches.

Anyway, back to the call from the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked, with as much venom in her voice as she could manage with her child within hearing range. She didnÕt want to get too angry, as she didn't want to send bad vibes towards Wyatt, her son, who would probably end up crying again. The man in the doorway held up his hands defensively, taking an unconscious step back from the doorway.

"Whoa, I just came here to check on everything." He said, his eyes wide in fear. Piper had threatened him enough for him to know that this time she might be serious. Piper delicately lowered her baby boy into his crib, as he was again slumbering. Afterwards, she speedily turned to face the man in the doorway, her hands on her hips.

"Follow me," she said vehemently, lightly stomping towards the door, if it was possible. As she passed the man, she grabbed a hold of his ear, which wasnÕt such an easy task. The man was easily a head taller. She dragged him out of the room by the ear, ignoring his quiet protests. He knew that it would only irritate her further if he were to wake Wyatt.

Piper dragged the man into her room, turning on the lights with the flick of a switch as she passed through the entryway. She let go of his lobe after she shut the door, turning to him again. She harshly pushed him on the white wicker chair in the corner of her room, forcing him to become shorter than she. He gulped, knowing that he was in trouble this time.

"What the hell are you doing here at two o'clock in the morning, Chris?" Piper asked, glaring fiercely at the young man. He was, when standing, just over six feet tall, with longish brown hair and calm, green eyes. But then, his eyes weren't so calm, they were more... scared out of their wits.

"What?" Chris asked, his eyes darting in every direction, as if looking for an escape. "Am I not allowed to check on my charges? That is my job, you know." He tried to use some logic to ease Piper's nerves. He knew an angry Piper was not a fun Piper to be around. Piper, however, scoffed at his comment.

"You were here to check on your charges?" Piper asked, rolling her eyes. She leaned forward and put her hands on the arms of the chair. Chris tried to bury himself in the back of the wicker chair, getting some unwelcome splinters in his back due to the age of the seat. "Hate to break it to you buddy, but you only have one charge now."

As suddenly as she had come into the position, she withdrew from it. She slowly wandered over to her dresser, staring at the picture collection on top of it.

Chris transcended into a daze, his eyes showing his brain drifting off into space. A million thoughts flew throughout his head, making him feel dizzy. How could he have only one charge now? How could two charges just suddenly disappear without him knowing?

"Are they... dead?" He asked, terror in his voice. Piper slightly turned her head towards his, giving him a hard smirk.

"No, they're just off living with their boyfriends God knows where." She said coldly, then sharply moved her head back to the photos. Chris's mindset turned from terror to fury. How could Phoebe and Paige just up and leave both their sister and their wiccan duties? And for what, their boyfriends who they didn't even end up with? It was ridiculous!

"How the hell could you let them do that?" Chris asked, standing up from the armchair. He slowly walked towards Piper, trying not to anger her again. "Just... just go and bring them back, kicking and screaming if need be!" Chris watched, baffled, as Piper's demeanor lost its hardness. Her shoulders slouched, her head bent, and her arms lost their rigidness, now folded defensively across her chest.

"Don't you think I want to?" Piper's voice was eerily tranquil, seeming as if it was coming from someone other than herself. She showed a bit of humanity to Chris for the first time that night. His eyes softened as he saw her, and he stopped his gradual approach. He remained silent in order to allow her to continue.

"I want them to come. I want them to come home so badly... I just can't make them. They're happy and... it doesn't matter if I'm not. They are, and that's more important." A small droplet escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. It seemed to bring her back to reality. She hastily wiped her tear away, and straightened herself up. "What do you care, anyway, you're just my bastard of a whitelighter from the future." She briskly traipsed across the room and out of the door.

_Crude, but accurate,_ Chris thought lightly as he followed her through the hallway, up the stairs, and into the attic . He really was a bastard, after all, but Piper didn't realize that she was the mother out of wedlock.

Yes, Piper Halliwell was the mother of Christopher "Chris" Perry. Chris Perry Halliwell, that is. He was her and Leo's second son, who, by the way, was not yet conceived. But, of course, that was something Chris would have to work on. He had until older brother's first birthday, after all.

Chris halted in his thoughts, realizing his surroundings. Piper was thumbing through the Book of Shadows, skimming one page and then flipping to the next one.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly. He lightly crossed his arms and cocked his head slightly to the right. Piper stole a quick glance at him before looking back down at the Book of Shadows, where the picture of a Banshee could be seen clearly.

"Looking in the Book of Shadows." Piper said, "duh" written all over her tone of voice. Chris rolled his eyes at his mother's response, trying not to make an audible response that would alert Piper to his annoyance.

"What are you looking for?" He asked, making his question more specific. He hoped that he wouldn't receive a sarcastic response for this one, too. Piper stopped flipping and looked up at Chris, her hands rested on the alter holding the book.

"Wyatt has been having a lot of nightmares lately, and I wanted to see if there was any type of demon causing it." Piper continued to look through the book as Chris quickly diverted his eyes. Unconsciously, he began whistling innocently. He knew exactly what was causing the dreams, but he wasn't about to tell Piper that.

Piper, of course, noticed his not-so-subtle feint of innocence, and was standing directly in front of him in no time.

"Chris, hon, what's causing the dreams?" Piper asked, trying to intimidate him, even though she was about a foot shorter than he was. Chris tried not to look at his mom, but then he felt a sharp pain go through his shin. He snapped his head down at Piper, who was smiling widely and innocently.

"What'd you do that for?" Chris asked, his voice becoming a bit high-pitched from the pain. Piper's smile turned into a smirk.

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine." She said. Chris sighed.

"Fine," he said, and turned away from his mother. "Wyatt's getting a new power: Prophetic dreams." He could practically hear her jaw drop.

"Another one?" Piper asked, tapping Chris on his shoulder. He faced her again.

"Yeah, another one," he answered, trying to keep the envy out of his speech. He didnÕt want anything to tip of his mother about who he really was. He wasn't ready to face her as his mother instead of his charge, or his tool. And he was damn sure she wasn't ready to look at him as anything besides a pain in the ass. "So, how about you answer my question?" Piper tried not to smile.

"Easy. I kicked you because you're a pain in the ass." Chris grunted. _I was right,_ he thought.

"Good for you." Piper said, and turned back to the book. Chris stood there for a moment, confused. Just as he was about to speak, a blue and white triquetra appeared in the wall, directly behind Piper. An intense wind blew from it, strong enough to blow the two people over. Chris quickly caught Piper before they both hit the ground, making himself the cushion between her and the ground. The portal still kept going as the two just stared at it, having no idea who, or what, was going to come out of it.

Suddenly, a figure catapulted out of it, flying all the way across the attic and into the opposite wall. It crashed to the floor, breaking numerous objects. The portal whooshed as it closed, ending the tornado-like winds in the room. Piper shakily stood up, with Chris right behind her to keep her balance. The two stared at the figure as it got up from the floor.

The figure ended up being a girl. She looked like an adolescent, and was fairly short; she was only about five feet tall. She had dark brunette, curly hair that reached just pass her shoulders, and had calm, mossy green eyes. Eyes that looked strangely familiar to Piper, but she couldn't place them.

The girl smoothed out some of the wrinkles in her outfit, which ws very risqué. She wore a midnight blue leather miniskirt, a wine red leather tube top, and a forrest green cropped leather jacket. She had white leather wristbands with black RÕs imprinted in them and black leather boots that reached up to her knees and had three-inch heels.

After straightening up her outfit, she futilely attempted to smooth down her wild hair and puffed a curl out of her face. Finally, she spotted the two people in the middle of the attic, and her eyes widened. Piper glanced at Chris, whose mouth was wide open.

"Chris?" The girl asked, smiling. Chris nodded numbly.

ÒSierra?"

Piper stared at the two, completely baffled at what was going on. Stark silence filled the room.

_This is new, _Piper thought sarcastically.

T:T:T:T

AN: Okay, okay, I know the timeline is a bit off, but this is the way it is in my story. Live with it. Please, please review! 


	4. Acts of Love

_I get restless and wild  
__I fall but I try  
__I need someone  
__To understand  
_Kelly Clarkson, "Hear Me"

T:T:T:T

"Who the hell are you?" Piper asked, staring at the girl. She knew that breaking the silence might have been a bad idea, but she didn't care at the moment. She just wondered what this very… **interesting** girl was doing in the middle of her attic.

Sierra turned around to face Piper as if seeing her for the first time. She stared at Piper, her mother, the woman she had not seen in years. God, she missed her so much…

As if noticing Piper's suspicious stare, Sierra immediately numbed herself. She could deal with all of this later – introductions were essential.

"Sierra, Chris's sister from the future." Sierra answered, holding out her hand for Piper to shake. The older woman did so, but reluctantly. Piper still didn't really trust Chris, so how could she put her faith in the new arrival?

"Why are you here?" She asked after the two let go. She was still raising her eyebrows unbelievingly, and Sierra knew that she'd have to prove herself. After probing her brother's willing mind for what exactly to say, Sierra answered.

"I come from the future to escape my death there. Wyatt – yes, your son – just tried to kill me. I just got away… and why not help my dear brother while I'm here?" Sierra asked, and put her arm around her brother. He rolled his eyes as she squeezed him tight to imitate their bond. Piper had to hold in a smile as she watched the two siblings interact. Piper felt thoughts of suspicion rise in her, but she squashed them down. She needed the company, so she'd give them a shot.

"Uh… okay. I'll accept that… for now." Piper said, giving a small glare at the pair to show them her unease clearly before they grew too excited. Chris and Sierra exchanged a look, knowing the stubborn side of their mother well. Chris, of course, knew it better than Sierra did, but the latter could remember it a little bit.

"So, where can I sleep?" Sierra asked, swaying back and forth on her feet, her hands lazily resting in her pockets. Piper thought for a moment.

"Well, you can't sleep at the club because you're underage, so how about here? I have some extra rooms. In fact, I think it'd be a good idea if you were both here, since you're related and all." Piper offered, secretly hoping for the girl to accept the offer. To tell the truth, she was sick of trying to hold intelligent conversations with her almost-twelve-month-old.

"Sure, why not?" Sierra said, but she was not as confident as she appeared. She knew that sleeping in her old house would definitely bring back some memories. Sure, some would be good, but she knew that some would be terrible. Piper clapped her hands and smiled cheerily.

"Great! I'll go set up the beds." She said, and walked swiftly out of the attic. Most likely, she was heading to the bathroom closet, where she always kept her spare bedding.

After they heard her clomp down the stairs to the second floor, Sierra spoke up.

"Always the homebody, isn't she?" She asked her older brother, who quickly nodded.

"Yup. Mom just can't help being a mom, and how could she not with all the kids she has?" He asked, and turned to look down at his little sister. She was smiling up at him, but then suddenly dropped it.

"Why did she say she had spare rooms?" Sierra asked with a questioning look on her face. Chris's smile dropped as well, and he started explaining the events of the past few weeks.

T:T:T

The hustle and bustle of the overcrowded Chinese city almost overwhelmed the small, Caucasian woman weaving her way through the crowds. Although she had encountered quite a bit of sidewalk traffic when she had lived in San Francisco, it was nothing compared to what she was experiencing currently. She was forced to run through the maze of people with her shopping bags closed tightly to her chest so that her newly-bought items wouldn't get crushed or stolen.

Finally, the woman reached her destination – the hotel where she and her boyfriend were staying. She rushed into the elevator and pressed the "P" button on the elevator so she would go directly to the penthouse suite. Lucky for her, most of the people in her hotel spoke English, so she didn't have to worry about using her phrase book during conversations with the people around her.

When she entered the top level, the first thing she saw was a large, magnificent foyer. To her, the Chinese never under-did anything. She turned into the third door on the right and walked directly into the master bedroom. She whisked off her purple high-heels and plopped her bags down on the black easy chair in the corner, completely exhausted from her shopping trip.

She was about to just lie down on the king-sized bed and take a nap when the door opened, revealing her smiling boyfriend.

"Hey, you," the woman said, returning her boyfriend with a large grin, showing off her pearly-whites.

"Hi, Phoebe," the man said, and sauntered over to the bed. He gently seated himself next to her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She immediately rested her head on his shoulder, finally beginning to relax.

"How was your day?" The boyfriend asked. His name was Jason Dean, and he and Phoebe Halliwell had been dating for the past few months. They had met at the newspaper where they both worked, and he was her boss.

"Hectic," Phoebe answered, and pouted. "Why does Hong Kong have to be so _big_?" she asked, gazing up into Jason's eyes.

"I don't know." Jason answered, and placed a kiss on her forehead. She smiled again, and moved her lips up to meet his welcome pair. The two fell back onto bed, and one thing led to another before they knew it…

T:T:T

An auburn-haired woman stood in a lavender, silk robe in the middle of a kitchen. She was stirring a cup of coffee apathetically. She didn't really care about what she was doing, she just needed to keep her hands busy. That was something her oldest sister had always told her – when one is bored or does not know what to do, just do something with one's hands to help one think. The woman had always taken her oldest sister's advice to heart, even though she hadn't always shown it.

Just the thought of her family member made the woman's hazel eyes tear up. She looked around the old-fashioned kitchen in the house that she had only lived in for the past couple of weeks. She had thought that she would get used to it, but it was just… boring. The kitchen she was in, the _house_ she was in, held no interest for her. She missed her Victorian house; it was the one she had come to love over the few years she had lived in it.

She was stirring coffee because she could not sleep. It was six in the morning, and she could not force herself to lie in her bed, close her eyes, and drift off into dreamland Her mind was running crazy, and she felt confined for some reason, but she couldn't figure out why. She had a job and a boyfriend – was there anything missing?

_Yes, Paige, there is,_ the woman thought to herself, _you're missing your sisters_. Paige thought back to the last time she had been in the Manor, the house she had lived in ever since she had found out that she was a witch. She, Piper, and Phoebe had been vanquishing a demon that needed the Power of Three to defeat it. Right after the demon had exploded, Paige had grabbed Phoebe and taken her to Hong Kong, and then gone back to her boyfriend, Richard's house. Paige couldn't even think of one thing they had talked about that didn't relate to the demon; she hadn't even had a chance to see her little nephew.

While Paige had been lost in thought, she had not noticed that her boyfriend had appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Missy Paige," Richard said, and came up behind his girlfriend. He wrapped his arms around her, intending it to be a loving embrace. Paige, however, shook him off and moved about ten feet away, beginning to sip her steaming mug of coffee. Only her eldest sister had the right to call her "Missy Paige".

"What's wrong, Paige?" Richard asked. He could always read her like a book, and Paige had always found that so sweet. But now, it was just sort of boring. Everything seemed dull, plain, and uninteresting now. However, Paige shook her head to keep Richard from catching on.

"Nothing," Paige said, "just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Paige bit her lip, and then decided to answer truthfully.

"My sisters," she responded, looking at Richard timidly. His sympathetic look immediately turned to that of anger.

"Why does everything have to be about your damn sisters!" Richard asked, slamming the mug he was holding to the countertop, immediately shattering it. He had picked it up so he might join his girlfriend in her early morning antics. Paige felt a monster inside of her rear its ugly head and could feel the heat of anger rising in her. She felt as if she was about to explode.

"Because they're my family!" Paige yelled back, and clapped her mug to the counter, far away from the remains of her boyfriends. Richard rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, they're your _precious_ sisters! You can't do anything without them, especially your accursed 'Power of Three'!" Richard screamed, and Paige jumped back a little. She had never seen Richard like this, and she didn't like it. She knew he was having problems with her being a more powerful witch than him, but she didn't know it had extended this far.

"You jealous?" she asked. "Just because _I _have powers and am close to my sisters shouldn't be a problem for you! My _life_ revolved around the two for the past _two years_! I can't just give it all up to be with you!" Paige could feel the tension that had been in her ever since she had arrived at the ancient house be released, and she began feeling freer than she had ever since the day when Piper had given her and Phoebe permission to move out.

"Fine! Then maybe we shouldn't be together if your heart isn't fully in it!" Richard yelled. Paige just stared at him, and then anger filled her eyes again.

"Fine, if you won't accept me for who I am and who I love, then we shouldn't be together." Paige said calmly, and swiftly enveloped herself in blue orbs. Oh, how it felt good to be free…

T:T:T:T

**Sorry if the ending seemed a little bit rushed, but I really want to get into the plot! Please, please review! I would very much appreciate it.**


	5. Problems, Problems, Everywhere

Paige orbed into her room, ready to be greeted with the welcome sight of familiarity. What she did not expect, though, was what she came upon once the orbs disappeared.

A teenage girl was sleeping in her bed. Her curly, brunette hair fanned out across her pillow, and she was wearing bright blue pajamas. Paige stared at them for a moment and realized that they were **her** pajamas. Wondering who the hell this strange girl was, Paige came to the first obvious – though not necessarily sensible – conclusion.

"Demon," Paige growled under her breath. Thinking of the martial arts moves that Phoebe had been attempting to teach her a few months back, Paige leapt into the air with her right foot out, intending to hit the 'demon' squarely in the chest.

However, unnoticed by the now airborne Paige, Sierra had opened her eyes halfway, curious about the sudden sense of another's thoughts in her mind. As the bare foot was headed towards her, Sierra freaked.

"Gah!" she screamed, and rolled out of the way. She didn't even think of fazing or shimmering, she simply reacted on gut instinct. After landing promptly on the floor, Sierra fumbled out of her bedcovers as Paige looked around, wondering where she had gone. As Paige spotted Sierra, now free from her restricting sheets, she decided she needed some help.

"Piper, demon!" Paige screamed out of instinct. She turned towards Sierra once again, not realizing the look of horror that had come across the latter's face.

_Does my aunt really think I'm a demon_? Sierra thought, staring at her youngest aunt. Again, this went unnoticed to Paige, who promptly used her powers.

"Lamp!" Paige shouted, holding out her right hand. She then flipped her wrist so

that her bedside table lamp would fly into the other direction. The porcelain light fixture hit its target, immediately sending Sierra to the ground, unconscious.

Just when Paige was prepared to celebrate beating a demon while being weeks out of practice, Piper showed up at the door, and she was ready for battle. Her clothes were a bit dirty for that early in the morning, and her face was covered with soot. Paige, of course, took notice of this.

"Piper, why is your face all black?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows at her eldest sister. Never mind that she had just fought a demon, she had done it a million times before – the fact that her neat-freak older sister would be so messy this early in the morning was more interesting at the moment.

"Paige!" Piper shouted, grinning widely. She seemed to be ignoring Paige's question completely as she hugged her sister. Okay, so it was a bit uncharacteristic of her to do so, but she had just about had a mental breakdown the night before and she needed a reason to be cheered up. Paige gratefully accepted the hug, knowing that she hadn't had true contact with her sister in quite a while.

However, just as soon as the sisters pulled apart, the happy atmosphere diminished.

"Paige, what are you doing here?" Piper asked, raising one eyebrow and placing her hands on her hips. Paige seemed to shrink where she stood and bit her lip.

"Richineyebroku." Paige spoke too quickly for Piper to decipher her meaning, so the elder continued staring questioningly at the younger one. Paige rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke again. "Richard and I broke up."

"Oh, Missy Paige, I'm so sorry," said Piper calmly, and she reached out to put her hand on Paige's shoulder comfortingly. Paige, however, jerked away and mimicked her older sister's stance. She definitely wanted to avoid receiving condolences from the sister she felt she had underappreciated recently, so she decided to change the conversation in the direction of a lighter topic.

"So, why do you look like that?" Paige asked again, eyeing her sister up and down. Piper looked confused for a moment, and then a look of realization spread across her face. She smirked jokingly at her sister for a moment.

"Oh, I just need a new toas- oh my God, what happened?" Piper's playful expression disappeared instantly as she spotted the unconscious teenager on the floor of Paige's bedroom. Paige was prepared to tell Piper how she had just captured them a demon when the oldest Halliwell reacted completely unexpectedly.

Piper dashed over to the Sierra's limp form, with the worry a mother would have for her child in her eyes. Paige watched as Piper frantically pressed two fingers against the girl's throat, then looked up to the sky, completely panicked. She then shrieked out a name that Paige thought would be the last one coming out of her sister's mouth.

"Chris!"

T:T:T

The cavern was dark and dismal, with only a small fire in the center of the large "room" to light it. The cavern's walls were made of brimstone, and the smell of it caused the entire place to reek of a smell that was a combination of a runner's feet and rotten eggs. A lone man sat in the corner, whittling away at a piece of wood. He was in the process of carving a head – a human head.

The wooden face was not the man's own, but that of another. The gentleman in the carving was middle-aged, with tacky glasses and some of the worst feature imaginable. However, the carver focused intently on his artwork, making sure that every bit was just right, that it all looked real.

As the man worked with his knife and wood, he looked over to a shelf full of carved heads. They were male and female, young and old. They were of all different shapes and sizes, and each one seemed to have its own personality. It was creepy, to say the least.

The man himself was also not looking the best. His long black hair was matted like a Brillo pad, having not been washed or combed in months, maybe even years. His blue eyes were cold and unfeeling, with a glint of intense happiness. He smiled as he worked, showing a mouth full of yellow and rotten teeth.

The man was so focused on his artwork, in fact, that he didn't notice a figure appear in the shadowed corner of the cavern. He was even more surprised when the figure spoke up in an unrecognizable voice.

"Hello, Loki, how are you on this unpleasant day in the Underworld?" The voice said. Loki squinted into the shadowy corner of the cave from which the sound was emanating, but could not make out a figure.

"Who's there?" Loki asked, his grimy hair whipping around as he turned his head frantically, searching for someone. Loki was an Okalshi – a demon that manipulated minds through his artwork. It was sort of like a voodoo doll - except not. They could simply control the mind, not the body. Okalshi were hired hands – low-level demons used by the upper-level ones to perform their dirty work.

However, this particular Okalshi was not one to be trifled with. Loki was paranoid and seemed to have a demonic version of a mental illness. He trusted no one, which caused him to be outcast from the tribe of his kind. That was _exactly_ why the speaker wanted him, though.

"Who I am is not of your concern. What I want you to do, however, is." The voice said, jumping around to another corner. Loki put his hand to his head.

"Bad Loki, bad, bad!" He screamed, hitting his head frantically against the wall. As soon as he had started, though, he stopped and continued whittling away. "Wha-what do you want?" He asked timidly a bit later, as if finally remembering the conversation from the small attack of insanity he had.

"Your help," responded the voice frankly, and Loki nodded.

"Help… help. Loki help no one. Loki all by himself. Go to other Okalshi. Loki no want you." Loki said, and began to rock back and forth as he carved. His hand slipped in his haste to hurry the voice away, and the knife nicked his hand. Loki yelped in pain and held his bleeding right hand against his chest.

Suddenly, though, his hand glowed and the wound disappeared. Loki stared at it for a moment, as if wondering if all the pain and the blood had come from his demented mind.

"And I'm here to help you, Loki," the voice said, coming from closer that time. It was like the speaker was right behind him. Of course, it was impossible because of the wall standing right there, but still…

"Help? Loki no need help. Loki all by himself. Go to other Okalshi. Loki no want you."

"But I want you," the voice said, seeming to whisper in his ear that time. Loki gave a jump and suddenly stood up. He placed his head in his hands again.

"Loki no want voice, Loki no want voice!" He shouted, and attempted to block out the voice when it spoke again.

"Loki, I will reveal myself to you if you agree to help me." The voice said soothingly.

"Okay, okay, just stop bothering Loki!" Loki shouted, and a figure suddenly appeared before him. He opened his eyes and mouth wide in surprise.

"Now, Loki, I have a job for you…"

* * *

**AN: Hey, guys! I'd just like to say that I REALLY didn't get a lot of reviews last time. I am NOT one to complain about reviews, I love you guys and I know you have really busy schedules, but this was REALLY pitiful. Could you please, please just press the button to review? I don't care what you say: you can say "I like cheese" for all I care, but I would really like to know this story is being read. Please? I"m SO sorry if you get upset that I'm asking for reviews like this, but please review anyway, saying that you're upset. I normally don't like it when authors chatise readers for not reviewing enough, but this is out of hand. I have midterms this week, so I won't be able to respond to any of your reviews this week, but could you please do it anyway? I'd love you guys for it (not that I don't now), but I'd love you even more.**

**Thank you very much.**

**Your humble Authoress**


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